Tumblr ‘Ships ‘Emsten’ Because They Think Emma Watson Would Be A Good Role Model For Kristen Stewart

Even though so many celebrities and Twilight fans have taken Robert Pattinson‘s side in this messy — or perfectly executed, your choice – cheating scandal, it turns out there are still people with high esteem for Kristen Stewart. Or at least, a fanbase who thinks she can be redeemed for cheating on her boyfriend. What’s interesting, however, is that this forgiveness seems to be conditional—and it’s tied up with actress Emma Watson.

While writing about Kristen’s supremely odd Vogue UK quote, I came across an interesting Tumblr tag: Emsten. Turns out that a contingent of Tumblr users ‘ship the unusual pairing of Kristen/Emma. As you’ll remember, ‘shipping is when you want two characters or two real-life people to be together, whether it’s in a relationship or what you think would be a beautiful friendship. And a ton of users are convinced that Emma and Kristen are soulmates.

Now, it’s unclear even after browsing the Emsten communities whether the fans think these girls should actually hook up, or just (as I’m reading it) that Emma would be the ideal role model for Kristen to align herself with now that she’s fallen out of favor with Hollywood. Now, the most scandalous thing that Emma’s done was when she cut off all her hair, but you really can’t find a classier young lady. She’s got her shit together, so I could see how people believe that she would be a calming influence on Kristen, who over the years has come across as sullen, argumentative, and/or rebellious.

To clarify: I don’t think these two have ever really crossed paths in real life, aside from representing their respective YA franchises at awards shows. Most of the photos I’ve found of the two of them are manips, but there is this (real, I assume) .gif of them both dancing at the MTV Movie Awards:

Still, the intent comes through loud and clear. Emsten supporters are using these to write Real Person Fiction, like one exchange I found where Emma talked about auditioning for Snow White and the Huntsman. As a celebrity blogger, I’m 99% sure that story isn’t true, but I can see how it fits into the world of Kristen and Emma having heart-to-hearts on talk show couches and coaching each other through growing up in Hollywood.

I don’t highlight the Emsten fandom to shame or poke fun at them; really, I’m mostly just curious about how it came about and what the motivations are. When I was growing up in fandom in the early ’00s, the only ‘ships were incredibly dirty and there was no doubt they were about sex. But with ‘shipping becoming more mainstream, I feel like more often I’m coming across users who manipulate media to create the friendships they want to see in real life, but without any other agenda.

To that end, I think they should add Emma Stone to their group and make it a platonic OT3.